A coral reef thought dead for 60 years is teeming with life
Scientists have discovered a healthy mesophotic coral ecosystem off the coast of Benin that was previously misidentified as dead in the 1960s. Using modern sonar and underwater drone technology, researchers confirmed the reef is thriving in deeper, light-limited waters.
Why it matters
The discovery provides hope for marine conservation and demonstrates how modern technology can correct historical scientific assumptions about ocean health.
A coral reef off the coast of Benin that was thought to be dead for decades has been found alive and apparently healthy.
Surveys conducted in the 1960s, which were primarily designed to locate productive fishing grounds, identified what appeared to be a deep-water coral reef. At the time, researchers concluded that the reef was probably dead. More than 60 years later, scientists returned to the area armed with modern sonar and the Deep Sea Camera System provided by the National Geographic Exploration Technology Lab.
What they found was very different from what the historical records had suggested.
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